Categorieën
Technologie Theologie

Recensie Dank God voor techniek – Maaike Harmsen

In onze wereld neemt techniek een belangrijke plaats in en bepaalt voor een steeds groter gedeelte onze maatschappij en hoe wij naar de wereld kijken. Wie kan zich nu nog een leven zonder smartphone voorstellen? Tegelijkertijd hebben christenen vaak een haat-liefde verhouding met techniek en hebben vooral oog voor de negatieve gevolgen ervan. In het boek Dank God voor techniek doet theoloog en techniek-liefhebber Maaike Harmsen een manmoedige poging om dit beeld te kantelen en ons te laten realiseren dat we best dankbaar mogen zijn voor de techniek die God ons gegeven heeft. Het lijkt erop dat boeken die gaan over de invloed van techniek op onze samenleving in één van de volgende categorieën vallen: óf het betreft een optimistische kijk die gelooft dat techniek ons leven beter maakt en dat je met techniek problemen als de aanstaande klimaatcrisis kan oplossen, óf een pessimistische blik, die ervan uitgaat dat techniek de belangrijkste oorzaak van onze wereldproblemen is en dat dit in de toekomst alleen maar verergert. Harmsens boek val er precies tussenin en geeft een realistisch en pragmatisch beeld over wat techniek is en hoe je je als christen daartoe kan verhouden.

Bijbelstudies

Het boek bevat tien bijbelstudies, verdeeld over tien hoofdstukken, waarin elk hoofdstuk een technologisch thema verkend wordt en gekoppeld wordt aan een bijbellezing. Elke studie is gebaseerd op een preek die de auteur in het verleden gehouden heeft en deze zijn omgevormd tot overdenkingen die worden afgesloten met gespreksvragen. Harmsen laat een breed pallet aan technologische thema’s de revue passeren die elk zeer relevant en waarvan sommige bijzonder actueel zijn (bijvoorbeeld het thema landbouw wat in hoofdstuk 6 Speer, schoffel en kas behandeld wordt). De onderwerpen variëren van de klimaatcrisis, tot kunstmatige intelligentie (AI) tot en met het heelal en ruimtevaart. In de inleiding schrijft de auteur dat zij geen technische achtergrond heeft omdat zij “slechts theoloog” (12) is en het boek geschreven heeft uit nieuwsgierigheid naar techniek en wat er vanuit de bijbel hierover te zeggen valt. Ze hoopt dat deze nieuwsgierigheid ook bij de lezer wordt aangewakkerd en ze is daar, wat mij betreft, uitstekend in geslaagd; het boek is vlot geschreven en de technische onderwerpen worden op een toegankelijke manier uitgelegd (hetgeen een groot voordeel is als een niet-techneut een boek over techniek schrijft). De inhoud heeft tegelijkertijd ook voldoende diepgang en Harmsen weet goed de relevante thema’s en morele vraagstukken uit het vakgebied te beschrijven en koppelt deze aan interessante bijbelgedeelten.

Mensbeeld

Waar sommige recensenten haar een gebrek aan exegese verwijten, is het goed om te beseffen dat dit geen verzameling preken is maar een reeks korte inleidingen op technische thema’s vanuit bijbels perspectief, die vooral kunnen aanzetten tot een gesprek hierover met elkaar. Wat opvalt is dat bijna alle gekozen bijbelgedeelten uit het Oude Testament komen en gebaseerd zijn op theologisch-antropologische teksten, met andere woorden, teksten die gaan over wie de mens is en hoe deze zich mag verhouden tot God, andere schepselen en de wereld. Het mensbeeld wat in de Bijbel wordt geschetst biedt verrassend veel relevante aanknopingspunten voor de technologische uitdagingen van de 21ste eeuw. Het mensbeeld dat Harmsen door het boek heen schetst, en welke als een rode draad die door het boek heen loopt, is dat de mens op de aarde is gezet om de aarde te bewerken en, professor Klaas Schilder parafraserend, om zichzelf te ontwikkelen en te leren. Techniek is hierbij ontegenzeggelijk een belangrijk middel om dat te doen, met als doel om God groot te maken. Daar waar het christendom nog wel eens verweten wordt dat deze teksten misbruikt zijn als rechtvaardiging voor het plunderen en vervuilen van onze aarde (bijvoorbeeld White, 1967), merkt Harmsen terecht op dat we de aarde “niet alleen [moeten] bewerken maar ook bewaren, dat is onze diepmenselijke opdracht” (67)[1]. Ook hier valt op dat haar pragmatisch-realistische benadering een heldere en nuchtere kijk vormt die richting kan geven in maatschappelijke debatten, zoals bijvoorbeeld het stikstofdebat, die steeds meer worden gedomineerd door extreme standpunten en waar steeds minder de bereidheid is om naar elkaars standpunten te luisteren en samen te werken. Ik zou haar benadering willen kenschetsen als een moderne vorm van christelijke deugdethiek, waar bij christelijke politieke partijen gelukkig ook steeds meer aandacht voor is (bijvoorbeeld Van Putten (2022)), waaruit blijkt dat bijbels geïnformeerde deugden nog steeds een zegen kunnen zijn voor onze gepolariseerde samenleving.

Maaike Harmsens boek verdient een brede lezerskring onder theologen, predikanten, voorgangers, leesgroepen en iedereen die geïnteresseerd is in een christelijke doordenking van het gebruik van technologie. Het boek combineert kennis van zaken met originele theologische reflectie en moedigt de lezer vooral aan om zelf kritisch na te gaan denken over de rol van technologie zonder daarbij normatief te worden. De enige kritische noot die ik zou willen plaatsen is dat ik niet eens ben met Harmsens positie dat zij niet gelooft in morele vooruitgang (123) en dat elke poging tot een utopische nieuwe samenleving, zoals bijvoorbeeld de Mars-kolonie van Elon Musk, gedoemd is om te mislukken vanwege de zondige natuur van de mens. Er is mijns inziens de afgelopen honderden jaren wel degelijk vooruitgang geboekt en technologie heeft daar ook deels in geholpen, denk hierbij aan de afschaffing van de slavernij en de emancipatie van vrouwen, maar tegelijkertijd ben ik het Harmsen eens dat we niet klakkeloos moeten geloven in een maakbare samenleving en dat we vanuit onze christelijke identiteit met wijsheid mogen handelen, of zoals zij het zegt “alle vragen over techniek komen weer terug naar wie jij bent, wie jij wilt zijn voor God en je naaste” (126).

Sticker

Bij het boek wordt een sticker meegeleverd waarmee je kan laten zien dat je God dankt voor techniek. Op de foto zie je de sticker die ik op mijn gitaarkoffer geplakt heb.

Tot slot, de boekomslag, de bijgeleverde “Dank God voor techniek”-sticker en de ondertitel van het boek (bijbelstudies voor ruimtereizigers) verwijzen naar ruimtevaart en geven het boek een nerdy uitstraling en zal sommige potentiële lezers misschien afschrikken. Ik zou die mensen juist van harte willen aanraden om juist wel het boek te lezen want het helpt terdege om je als christen te navigeren in onze door technologie gedomineerde 21ste eeuw met als devies ‘Dank God voor techniek” en ik bedank Maaike Harmsen voor het prachtige boek hierover.

Referenties

Jong, Matthijs de. (2022). “Een exegetische verkenning van Genesis 1:26-28.” Met Andere Woorden, jaargang 41/ 2. https://debijbel.nl/bericht/heersen-als-beeld-van-god-geen-ramp-voor-de-aarde

Putten, Robert van. (2022). Tien deugden voor politiek en overheid (Amersfoort: Wetenschappelijk Instituut ChristenUnie). https://wi.christenunie.nl/uitgaven-details/10212096/boeken/10285772/tien-deugden-voor-politiek-en-overheid.

Urk-Coster, Eva van. (2022). “Ecologisch Bijbellezen in het antropoceen.” Met Andere Woorden, jaargang 41/ 2. https://debijbel.nl/bericht/ecologisch-bijbellezen-in-het-antropoceen

White Jr, Lynn. (1967). “The historical roots of our ecologic crisis.” Science, 155 (3767), 1203-1207.


[1] Steeds meer theologen lezen deze teksten uit Genesis vanuit een ecologische hermeneutiek. Zie bijvoorbeeld Van Urk-Coster (2022) en De Jong (2022).

Categorieën
AI Ethiek Technologie Theologie

Book review Following Jesus in a Digital Age by Jason Thacker

What does it mean to follow Jesus in a digital age is a question many people ask themselves, but there are not many resources to date that help answer this question. Jason Thacker, who is the chair of Research in Technology at the ERLC Research Institute, has filled this void by writing this book. According to Thacker the main goal is “to [help] better understand that we are each being discipled every day by the technologies we use, whether we realize it or not” (3) and by making us think how we can navigate our digital society in a “moral, holistic, and deeply biblical way” (6). The book that comes in a handy takeaway size, contains four thematic chapters about wisdom, truth, responsibility, and identity and an appendix that contains a note to (church) leaders.

The first chapter explores the question what it means to follow Jesus wisely in a digital age. Wisdom starts with taking a step back to reflect on how technology is shaping us in our daily lives and Thacker draws on the work of the French sociologist and theologian Jacques Ellul to demonstrate how humans and technology have been in a complex relationship since the beginning of the world. The mindset in our 21st century society is that we should be able to solve every world problem with technology (‘there’s an app for that’) and technology has permeated almost every aspect of our daily lives. In a way our world, and henceforth our worldview, gets more and more mediated through technology. Ellul already wrote about this technological imperative in the pursuit of efficiency and progress in his book The Technological Society more than seventy years ago and his analysis still holds today. In the last part of this chapter Thacker describes what it means to be wise as it is described in the  biblical Wisdom literature. Being wise is not to walk the path of technology towards more efficiency, but to reorient oneself to a full flourishing life as God intended it to be. Christians are all called to show wisdom in the digital public square. The second chapter is about pursuing truth. According to Thacker the root cause of the current post-truth era is not technology, but the scientific worldview that moved transcendency out of our society; we have moved from a God-centric world to a self-centred world where truth has been personalized and weaponized as propaganda. This has led to a world that gets inundated with dis- and misinformation which has been amplified and accelerated by technology. With the advent of new AI-powered technologies like deepfakes it is only expected to get worse as Thacker expects. He calls upon Christians to act wisely and pursue the Truth and be accountable for one’s own behaviour in dealing with mis- and disinformation. Being responsible in a curated age is the theme of the third chapter where the author advocates for being mindful of what content is being presented to you and why. In what I consider to be one of the best sections of the book, Thacker explains the rationale of content moderation by big tech companies and how they often fail to account for minority views which clearly can impact expressing Christian values that deviate from society’s values. In the last part of the book Thacker argues that Christians should take personal responsibility for their actions and not blaming technology or the other when things get polarized. One of the root causes for this polarization is the pursuit for building (online) identities by identifying us with (digital) communities that give a sense of belonging, purpose, and safety; Thacker challenges Christians to take the long Biblical view as they already have a place where they belong.

Reading this book may give the reader an uncanny, even dystopian view on the role technology is playing in our society, despite the author mentioning positive use cases of technology. Christians may also be thankful for the gift of technology in their lives, and I would have liked to have this point more emphasized in the book to develop a balanced and realistic point of view on technology. The best part of this book is the long biblical view the author takes on what it means to be a Christian in this digital world by drawing on biblical wisdom. This book will be helpful for any church leader, theologian and preacher who wants to develop a biblical perspective on our technological mediated age but I would recommend reading this book in parallel with a book that focuses more on how technology could be used for good so one can develop a realistic, well informed perspective on what it means ‘to be present in the modern, digital world’ to paraphrase Ellul.

Jason Thacker, Following Jesus in a Digital Age, (Nashville TN, B&H Publishing, 2022), 163 pp., USD 12.82, paperback (ISBN 978-1087754598).

Categorieën
AI Ethiek Technologie Theologie

Recensie Robotic Persons – our future with social robots – Joshua K. Smith

Robots en theologie?

“Wat moet een recensie over een robot-boek in dit tijdschrift?” is wellicht de eerste gedachte die bij de lezer opkomt na het lezen van de boektitel. Echter de titel verraadt niet dat het gaat om een diepgaande theologische verhandeling over onze toekomst met sociale robots. Het boek is geschreven door de Amerikaanse voorganger en wetenschapper Joshua K. Smith en behelst een christelijke doordenking over wat het betekent om mens te zijn in een maatschappij waarin slimme technologie een steeds prominentere rol inneemt. Smith focust in zijn boek op sociale robots, oftewel autonome fysieke apparaten die worden aangestuurd door kunstmatige intelligentie (AI), waarmee mensen steeds frequenter en intenser interacteren. Dit soort robots bieden vele voordelen voor de mensheid, zoals dat zij vervelend en repeterend werk voor ons kunnen overnemen en dat we bijvoorbeeld geen menselijke soldaten meer hoeven te laten vechten als we dit door robots kunnen laten uitvoeren. Daarnaast gaan de ontwikkelingen razendsnel en lijken er dagelijks nieuwe toepassingen bij te komen. Echter de technische progressie gaat vele malen sneller dan de ethische reflectie die nodig is om op een verantwoorde manier met deze technologie om te gaan betoogt Smith, zodat als we niet oppassen dit zelfs tot dehumanisering kan leiden.

Imago Dei

De spannende vraag is dus hoe wij als mensen ons moeten verhouden tot slimme technologie die ons tegelijkertijd een spiegel voorhoudt, en ons dwingt na te denken wie wij zijn als mens. De auteur roept juist christenen op om mee te doen in dit maatschappelijke debat en hun theologische antropologie, waarin de mens is geschapen naar het beeld van God (Imago Dei), te plaatsen tegenover het vigerende materialistische mensbeeld. Dit mensbeeld wat gekenmerkt wordt door vooruitgangs- en maakbaarheidsdenken, zal uiteindelijk de machine steeds meer gelijkschakelen aan de mens en de mens gaan vervangen, hetgeen zal leiden verlies van menselijke waarde en waardigheid. Om dit te voorkomen pleit de auteur ervoor om robots een rechtspersoonlijkheid te geven, niet om de robots te beschermen, maar juist om de mens te beschermen.

Wat maakt dit boek interessant?

Wat dit boek interessant maakt voor de theologie professional is dat Smith een diepgaand theologisch antropologisch mensbeeld neerzet wat stevig gegrond is in metafysica en gestoeld is op degelijke exegese, en daarmee een goede bijdrage levert aan het debat over hoe wij ons als christenen moeten verhouden tot nieuwe technologie. Het nadeel van het boek is dat het wel enige filosofische basiskennis vereist om de discussie rond bijvoorbeeld het voordeel van substantie-dualisme te kunnen volgen. Maar ben je geïnteresseerd in theologie en technologie en ben je niet bang voor diepgang dan is dit boek zeker een aanrader.

Bibliografie

Joshua K. Smith, Robotic Persons: Our Future with Social Robots, Bloomington IN: WestBow 2021, 252 pp., ISBN 9781664219748.

Categorieën
Ethiek Technologie Theologie

Book review Christian Ethics for a Digital Society by dr. Kate Ott

Introduction

One of the reasons why I am pursuing my master’s in Theology is to connect theology and technology from an ethical perspective. This intersection is a new genre but more and more theologians are starting to write about this topic. The most recent book I read is the book Christian Ethics for a Digital Society by dr. Kate Ott.1 The review starts with setting the stage, in which I will describe the context of the book and the writer. In the subsequent section I will summarize the key points of the book, which will be followed by a review and suggestions for the reader.

Setting the stage

Technology is playing an ever more important role in our daily lives which cries out for a critical and ethical engagement. However, according to the author, dr. Kate Ott, the majority of people isn’t able to provide such a response and react either in “crippling fear” or in “worshipful awe.”2 In her book she tries to move beyond the ignorance of the many, and come up with a critical engagement towards digital technology based on a daily ethical practice. According to Ott, traditional ethics “grounded in absolutes or calculations” will not suffice but different ethical approaches are needed that “embrace growth, interdependence, and creativity.”3 In the book she advocates for Christians to develop a digital literacy, which does not only mean reflection about technology, but also applying this in such a way that this leads to a “more just and inclusive world.”4 The interesting thing about the book is that the author is not a technologist but has a background in feminist theories and sexual ethics.5 Ott, who currently teaches at Drew University in the United States, uses this background and methods to come up with a practical ethical framework based on “embodiment and interdependence with creation.”6 In a way she has documented her quest to a critical and ethical engagement with digital technology from an outsider’s perspective. I have been working in the world of (software) technology for last two decades and I have read her book from a technology insider’s perspective. I must admit that the author has done a great job in explaining what technology does and bringing this into conversation with theology and ethics. The result is a unique book that not only provides ‘food for thought’ but challenges the reader to look in the screen (not in the mirror) and make a change.

Key points of the book

The book is structured around four themes from the world of digital technology: algorithms, social interaction using digital technology, archiving and surveillance technology and the environmental impact digital technology has on our planet. Each chapter provides an introduction to the topic and a critical theological and ethical reflection, or as the reviewer Jen Jones puts it “Each chapter extends discernment of digital technology encompassing individual, relational, and societal considerations and implications.”7 In the concluding chapter Ethical Hacking and Hacking Ethics, Ott drives the key points of the previous chapters home in proposing to approach digital technology like an ethical hacker. Hacking normally has a negative connotation to it, but transforming the digital society requires the mindset of a hacker and entails “the ethical call to gain access to the ecosystem of digital technologies and define the vulnerabilities to be patched as the perpetuation of social inequalities and injustices.”8 I will briefly discuss the key points of each chapter (theme) below.

Algorithms

The first chapter about algorithms, called Programming for Difference, is a topic that is closely related to my professional life.9 Algorithms are one of the most important components of digital technology and they mediate how we interact with the world. Based on data, algorithms make predictions that e.g., inform our internet searches, movie recommendations and social media feeds. In a way, algorithms adapt towards our needs and they make our lives more individualized and seem to promote diversity.10 However, Ott is quite right when she exposes the algorithmic paradox of diversity, as algorithms reduce human beings to quantifiable units and impose an “imperial dominance of sameness.”11 People are much more homogeneous than they are willing to admit and algorithms reflect and amplify their cultural biases. Many people unconsciously accept what the algorithms feed them and in this way, they are unaware of how the values of these algorithms shape their lives.12 Ott uses the Tower of Babel narrative (Gen. 11:1-9) to analyze algorithms from a theological and ethical point of view. This story is one of the most frequently used stories in the Bible used by theologians and biblical scholars, when they want to put technology in a biblical context. The key message is that humans in our era use technology in order to become more like God themselves, and in this way they resemble the people who tried to build the tower of Babel. God punishes the people by bringing confusion among the people by letting them speak different languages. Ott has a different hermeneutical approach, which clearly reveals her roots in feminist theology, emphasizing that it was God’s intention to have multiple languages as this is a token of diversity which is “a defining feature of creation.”13 In her opinion it is not the building of the tower that God condemns, but it is the use of a single universal language that erases all differences.14  She quotes the American professor in journalism Jack Lule to underscore how digital services providers in our time can be compared to the Babel narrative:

Tech Giants on the other hand consider digital technology and electronic communication a way of regaining what was lost at Babel. They suggest both through translation and the ubiquity of common media that again one language is being created.15

The quote above is a good example of the algorithmic paradox Kate Ott brings forward in her book. Algorithms are the language of our time and shape our culture in such a way that many are unaware of. One of the best parts in the book that I wholeheartedly agree with, is that she calls for a digital literacy in order to respond to digital technology in an ethical manner or as she puts it: “everyday ethical living in a digital world requires curiosity and basic literacy with how digital technology functions.”16 An appropriate ethical response to algorithms starts with an awareness how they function and how they do not promote diversity by default. Ott’s call to action is to actively stand up and defy algorithmic bias as much as one proportionally can. Those with greater knowledge and influence on how algorithms function, think of programmers or data scientists, have a greater responsibility than those who are end users.17 By actively engaging and by deliberate interaction with algorithms we become more digitally fluent and are co-creators who are asked to actively promote diversity and prevent that we all speak the same language powered by algorithms.

Social interactions on digital platforms

In the second chapter, titled Networked Selves, Kate Ott zooms in on the role digital platforms play on relationships people have with themselves, others and God. A lot of interactions between humans has shifted from the physical world to the digital world and especially social networking platforms, often referred to as social media, play an important role in this. This networked understanding of the self is the key ingredient of this chapter and Ott focusses on the role data plays in forming our identity, Ott calls this the datafied self, and our relationships with the other and God.18  Just like in the previous chapter it starts with the awareness of the role digital platforms play in the formation of our own identity; digital technology is no longer something separate, but it is completely integrated in our “being in the world,” in other words, we are “datafied, embodied, and spiritual beings.”19 This construct poses all kinds of moral questions about who we are supposed to be in relationship to ourselves, the other and to God, and for this Ott introduces the theological notion of attunement to help us orient ourselves. Attunement based on a trinitarian understanding of God is a model for being an innovative Christian that supports a networked approach of relationships and promotes inclusivity.20 The ethical approach that follows from the notion of attunement latches on to the approach how to deal with algorithms, as it was set out in the previous chapter. It starts with the awareness of how digital technology is using data to instrumentalize our relationships, especially on social media platforms, and how the algorithms used are based on values of the digital world.21 The algorithms can make us feel very networked, you can e.g. 500+ friends on Facebook, but they do not promote deeper relationships. The core value of attunement is to understand how this works and what role this plays in our lives.22 The identity that the algorithms compose of us is based on the data they have collected and processed, and this influences who we meet and what we see.23  This can have moral implications which many are unaware of. Digital platforms, powered by their algorithms, can promote bias and make us blind for the otherness of the others. An appropriate theological and ethical response, based on the notion of trinitarian attunement, is that we “recognize, understand, and liberate ourselves and society from racism and other moral deformations of our digitally embodied spirits if we are to live into God’s example of difference in unity as the imago dei of a networked self.”24

Archiving and surveillance technology

The previous chapter focused mainly on the way digital technology shapes our personal lives and relationships. In the third chapter Moral functions beyond the Delete key the primary focus is on how the boundary between private and public information is being changed by digital technology which raises ethical questions about privacy and surveillance.25 Digital platforms are a huge archive of all the digital interactions we have done, so every search, click, like and swipe is being stored and being used by the algorithms of the digital platforms. It seems that these platforms remember everything and that we live in a world where “forgetting has become a luxury.”26 In this chapter Ott focuses on the concept of forgiveness in the context of digital platforms that never forget. She uses the theological notion of metanoia for this and this is described as “the process by which faith positively enables the human capacity to make change.”27  The culmination of the amount of data archived has social shaping consequences at two levels. On the one hand it influences individual people’s behavior which raises moral questions about privacy, and on the other hand, at a more aggregated level, it raises questions about social surveillance. Again, data and algorithms have more impact on shaping behavior than the majority of people is aware of. And especially because of the “indelible nature of digital data” this can have great consequences.28 As seen in the previous chapters, an ethical response to this starts with awareness and deliberate actions on both the personal and legislative level.29 Some scholars suggest that a good response would be to be able to delete the data, however Ott claims that she prefers accountability at personal and systemic level (metanoia) over erasure. This would lead to better and restored relationships with others and with God.30

Environmental impact

The last theme Kate Ott covers in her book is about the environmental impact digital technology has. This chapter, dubbed Creation Connectivity, addresses a much-overlooked aspect of digital technology, which is the impact it has on the environment and the natural resources that are consumed. Since many people perceive digital technology as a potential solution to help fight environmental damage, they often don’t associate this with the environmental damage it inflicts.31 Ott argues for an “ecologically friendly digital technology” which is based on a theological model of interdependence with creation.32 This all starts, again, with raising awareness of the ecological footprint digital technology is making and for this Ott suggests the notion of mattering which is described by the sociologist Jennifer Gabrys as “it is a way to make an intangible both materially visible and have relevance or value.”33 By making the intangible visible, it should provoke people to think and ultimately would lead to an ethical response. Ott concludes the chapter that “awareness about the digital environmental impact is an important aspect of digital literacies” and this is an important ingredient for a Christian moral responsibility for a more just and diverse world.34

Ethical hacking

In the last chapter of the book, Ethical Hacking and Hacking Ethics, the author wraps her call to action up in the notion of ethical hacking. Hacking to her is an “ethical call to gain access to the ecosystem of digital technologies and define the vulnerabilities to be patched as the perpetuation of social inequalities and injustices.”35 The ethical responses she proposed in the previous chapters are about diversity, attunement metanoia and responsible co-creation.36 All can be summed up as increasing digital literacy in order to make a change. Ott argues that using a theological mindset can help us find a hermeneutical vocabulary that will help us interpret digital technology, and help us become a better datafied, spiritual and embodied being.37

Review and suggestions for the reader

Books about technology treated in the context of theology is an upcoming genre and I have read a couple of them. This book is clearly different, because of the author’s focus on social ethics and her outsider’s perspective. Ott does a great job in describing the current technological landscape and has clearly become proficient in what is happening in the world of digital technology. I must admit that, especially in the first chapter, she hits the nail on the head in discerning in how digital technology is influencing and shaping our lives. I also absolutely agree with her that we need to increase our digital literacy in order to start using digital technology in an ethical, responsible way. In the book theological and ethical concepts are innovatively intertwined and will leave the reader with lots of ‘food for thought’. The book is especially interesting for practitioners who want to learn more about how they should engage with digital technology in their Christian environment. This book will be helpful for e.g. ministers, theologians and philosophers. The book is less suited as a practical how-to guide in how to navigate as a Christian in the world of digital technology since it is more of an academic work. I found the chapter about the impact that digital technology has on our environment an eye-opener and I think lots of work has to be done in that space.

When you read the book, it becomes clear the author has a background in social and feminist/ womanist ethics. Her focus is predominantly on the power and biases digital technology embodies and how this can oppress and marginalize minorities and lead to less fair and unjust world. In my opinion she focuses too much on the oppressive and negative aspects that digital technology brings to bear and has left out counterexamples on how digital technology can help in creating a better world. The real world of digital technology, in my opinion, is more nuanced than the picture Ott paints. There are also many examples available on how e.g. algorithms and social media have increased the opportunities for refugees and helped physicians in third world countries to provide better care.38 My recommendation to other readers would be to complement reading this book with a book that focuses more on the positive outcomes digital technology offers. By contrasting and comparing both books one gets a more nuanced and better understanding on how digital technology works and what impact it has on our personal lives and society. Based on this, a robust ethical response can be grasped. In sum, I would definitely recommend reading this book for any Christian theologian or minister who is interested in the ethical consequences and workings of digital technology. Ott does an outstanding job in exposing the power digital technology has on our society and how this can lead to an unjust society. However due to the lack of focusing on the upside of digital technology I would recommend reading additional literature to inform one’s ethical response to digital technology.

References

Ficatier, Antonin. “Book Review: Kate Ott, Christian Ethics for a Digital Society.” Studies in Christian Ethics 33, no. 1 (2020): 130–133. https://doi.org/10.1177/0953946819883780d.

Jones, Jen. “Book Review: Kate M. Ott, Christian Ethics for a Digital Society.” Journal of Moral Theology 9, no.1 (2020): 249–250.

Ott, Kate M. Christian Ethics for a Digital Society. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019.


Notes

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